Things to See & Do

Entertainment

Belt Line in Addison
Belt Line Road, between Marsh Lane and Preston Road
Addison, TX 75001

The stretch of Belt Line Road that runs through Addison is well-stocked with restaurants, nightclubs and bars. Those looking for unique spots can hit the Melting Pot for a hands-on fondue dinner, the Addison Improv for a night of laughs or the Magic Time Machine for a waitstaff dressed in costume. Those seeking the familiar can hit popular chains such as Macaroni Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings and On the Border. On the east side of the Tollway, the Village on the Parkway shopping center has shops, galleries and more restaurants. Further east is the Studio Movie Grill, where moviegoers can dine while they take in the latest releases. Though not directly on Belt Line Road, nearby attractions include Addison Circle Park, Addison Theatre Centre and jazz club Sambuca.

Bishop Arts District
Bishop Avenue at 7th Street
Dallas, TX 75208

Hip. Ethnic. Young. Old. Gay. Straight. Rich. Poor. On most any day, you see all of those – and more – walking the streets of the Bishop Arts District in North Oak Cliff. In a city that lacks enough public spaces for Dallas’ salad bowl of peoples to gather, the district is a wonderful exception. Like most oases, however, you probably don’t know it’s there. Come discover the collection of restaurants and shops that run from Aztec/Mayan food to notary publics.

Mockingbird StationMockingbird Lane
Dallas, TX 75206

The entertainment district features plenty of trendy spots to eat, shop and more. Residential lofts offer views of the district and downtown Dallas. It’s conveniently located next to the DART station at the northeast corner of Mockingbird and Central Expressway.

Snider Plaza

This old-time shopping center, nestled in University Park across from SMU, has a neighborhood feel, a cute little fountain and cozy places to grab a nibble. An eclectic collection of unique restaurants and shops fills the three-block area, which includes such beloved spots as Kuby’s Sausage House, an Eisenhower-era full-service gas station and the original Burger House.

Though the redbrick-paved streets are cleaner now and the area has been redesigned for family-friendly fun, some things haven’t changed. Every day at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., the Fort Worth Herd (the Stockyards’ collection of longhorn cattle) fill the streets in a touristy cattle drive. Livestock is still housed here. People shop till they drop. And there are plenty of places to wet your whistle.

This entertainment district – named after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid who hid out here – is the heart and soul of Fort Worth. Bounded by Throckmorton, Calhoun, Second and Fifth streets and containing 14 blocks of redbrick-paved streets, it maintains 19th-century architecture while keeping a young and hip vibe and sporting a cowboy cool appropriate for its Chisholm Trail roots.

Historical Attractions

Ft Worth Stockyards National Historic District The Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District is a popular tourist attraction now, but in the early 1900s, so many cattle were bought and sold there that the area was nicknamed the “Wall Street of the West.”

Another can’t-miss stop is the Stockyards Station, which is home to a couple dozen shops, several restaurants, a depot of the Grapevine Vintage Railroad (the excursion train takes passengers on the Trinity River Run), theatrical gun fights, a mechanical bull-riding attraction and more.

Restored to its 19th-century booster glory and housing a museum of artifacts ranging from Clyde Barrow’s gun to Spanky McFarland’s pants. Inside, the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture will give residents of Dallas and its suburbs a sense of shared identity and will show visitors that something occurred here other than the assassination of a president. The 365 artifacts in the county museum range from the historic to the fun to the unsettling, including film taken moments after Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed, J.R. Ewing’s Stetson.

Pioneer Plaza
Griffin at YoungDallas, TX 75202
Phone: 214-953-1184

The park, near the location of the old Shawnee Trail once used for real cattle drives, is scenic in its own right, with a small waterfall and a creek that winds between and around the longhorns and their bronze cowboy masters. Kids and grownups alike will enjoy clambering over the large rocks in the creek, exploring the gravel path that follows the trail of the longhorns and taking in the landscaped native bushes and trees. But it’s the sculptures themselves that steal the show. Tails flying, hooves in mid-trot, the huge beasts seem liable to move at any minute, and it’s a little daunting to stand directly in their path. The park is also the ideal place for a Texas-style photo op – visitors will definitely be able to prove they’ve been to the Lone Star State.

Dallas Heritage Village is a 13-acre accredited living history museum that depicts what life was like in Dallas from 1840 to 1910. The site includes 38 Victorian-era homes and stores, including a working farm, log cabins, a traditional Jewish household, a one-room school and a general store. Costumed interpreters demonstrate weaving, cooking and other historic crafts, and a working blacksmith interacts with visitors. The homestead farm boasts cows, sheep and donkeys. A popular spot for weddings and receptions, Dallas Heritage Village also regularly holds festivals and specials events. Audio and docent-led tours are available.

Dealey Plaza
500 Main St.
Dallas, TX 75202
Phone: 214-571-1000

Once considered the ceremonial gateway to Dallas, Dealey Plaza will forever be linked with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was traveling through its triple underpass when he was murdered. The plaza, which was built in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration construction project, was named for George Bannerman Dealey, editor and owner of the The Dallas Morning News. Dealey led a movement in the late 1920s to reroute the Trinity River, which once flowed here, away from downtown Dallas in order to avoid the annual flooding problems. The river now flows one mile from this site. The plaza is now part of the Dealey Plaza Historic District, which also includes the adjacent Texas School Book Depository, now home of The Sixth Floor Museum.

John F. Kennedy Memorial
Main Street
Dallas, TX 75202

This 50-foot square, open-roofed, concrete cenotaph, or “empty tomb,” was designed by New York architect and Kennedy family friend Philip Johnson. Inside the stark monument is a granite marker inscribed with the president’s full name. Outside, an interpretive panel explains that a cenotaph is “a memorial for one whose remains lie elsewhere.”

Located in the former Texas School Book Depository, now the Dallas County Administration building, the Sixth Floor is Dallas’ “official” John F. Kennedy museum. The nonprofit, self-supporting facility is dedicated to “the life, times, death and legacy of JFK” — not just the assassination. Exhibits convey the tenor of early-’60s America, the terrible grief that engulfed a nation and some of the confusion that plagued investigations in the case. The physical highlight is the sniper’s nest, recreated with stacks of vintage cardboard boxes and walled off by Plexiglas.